English 364: The Female Gothic

Many critics have pointed out that the women characters in Frankenstein seem relatively minor and passive, while the book focuses most fully on the relationship between Victor and his creature.  If this is the case, do you think there are things in the novel that mark it specifically as a woman’s novel or a novel that is interested in women’s concerns?  In other words, how do you see Frankenstein as fitting into the tradition of the Female Gothic?  Or do you think it’s a novel that doesn’t really fit this tradition at all?

Respond to anything that particularly interests you in the first part of Frankenstein.  But here are some prompts to get you started thinking:

• What are your reactions to the author’s introduction to the novel?  Does Shelley seem confident in her own work?  Why or why not?  Is there anything in this introduction that shapes how you read the opening chapters of the novel itself?
• Why do you think Mary Shelley chooses to begin the novel with Walton’s story rather than directly with Victor Frankenstein himself?  What does she gain by using this framing device?
• Discuss the role of Elizabeth Lavenza in the novel as we first meet her.
• On p. 35, Victor describes the creature coming to life:  “His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful.  Beautiful!–Great God!”  Why do you think the creature is not beautiful even though his separate parts were selected for their beauty?  Why is this important in the novel?
• Mary Shelley tends to use the term “creature,” but “Frankenstein’s monster” is the popular term we use today What does it mean to be a “monster”?

What did you think about the ending of Northanger Abbey?  Please discuss anything that interested you…but here are some prompts you might want to consider:

• The one character about whom Catherine is inclined to think the worst is General Tilney. Why is this? She is humiliated when Henry realizes how her imagination has run away with her, but how mistaken is she really regarding his general character? Is there a way in which the General really is a Gothic villain despite not murdering his wife?
• Discuss Henry Tilney as a character.  Is he witty and delightful (as many Austen critics argue) or condescending and even misogynistic (as others claim)?  What do you think Henry sees in Catherine, why does he value her? Do you believe he really loves her? (Austen uses some interesting language about their relationship in the last few pages of the novel.)
• What about Eleanor Tilney?  At least one critic has argued that she is the “true Gothic heroine” of the novel.  How do you think this claim might be justified?  Do you agree with it?

Or, you might want to respond to this passage (slightly shortened and reworded) from an analysis of the novel by Iva Jankovic:

We can see the changes that Catherine undergoes in the novel in two ways: 1) as an awakening and transition from the romantic world into reality, and 2) as a molding of a social outsider into the “standards” of society.

The first transition could be said to teach Catherine that reality is not nearly so dramatic and romantic as it’s presented in Gothic novels.  She gains common sense and learns to think rationally (and possibly even cynically?) about the world around her.

The second transition, though, is one Catherine is forced into.  From being a tomboy in her childhood, she is taken to Bath, where she must learn what it means to be an 18th century woman: to dress appropriately, to have good manners, to talk about clothes and hair and boys. She learns she must conform to other’s expectations if she is to get anywhere in life

So, the question is:  Does Catherine start out as a zombie? Or does she become one?

Please feel free to respond to anything in the middle part of Northanger Abbey that particularly struck you.  Here’s a prompt to get you started thinking:

Provide a close reading of one of the following scenes.  In other words, discuss what happens in the scene, paying attention to specific language used. What do  we learn in the scene about character or plot? Why do you think it’s important in the novel as a whole?

• The scene at the beginning of Chapter 11, when Catherine is tricked into going on the carriage ride with James and the Thorpes.
• The scene on the walk with the Tilneys in Chapter 14.
• The scene in Chapter 15 when we find out what Mr. Morland has offered to set up James and Isabella in their marriage.
• The scene in Chapter 19 (or Vol. 2, Chapter 4) when Henry and Catherine discuss the flirtation between Captain Tilney and Isabella.
• The scene in Chapter 20 (or Vol. 2, Chapter 5) that takes place in the carriage on the way to Northanger Abbey, as Henry and Catherine discuss the old house and what to expect.

Like always, you should feel free to respond to anything that particularly interested you in the first 10 chapters of Northanger Abbey.  But here are some prompts to get you started thinking:

• Discuss conventions of the Gothic that Austen satirizes, especially in the opening chapter of the book.  Why do you think Austen chooses to begin the novel this way?
• Compare what you’ve read of Northanger Abbey so far with the excerpts we read from The Mysteries of Udolpho.  How do the two works differ in style, tone, characters, plot, etc?  Despite the differences, do you see any similarities between the works?
• Discuss Catherine’s first meeting with Mr. Tilney.  What’s interesting about the exchange they have?  Do you think Austen wants readers to see Mr. Tilney as funny and satirical or as condescending to Catherine?  You might also think about how these first impressions either change or stay the same as we meet Mr. Tilney again later.
• Consider the Thorpes versus the Tilneys.  Can these two families be considered “doubles” like the ones we often see in Gothic fiction?
• Discuss ways that Northanger Abbey is a novel about novels.  Would you consider the book an example of metafiction (a piece of fiction that is about fiction and fiction-writing and in which the book often self-consciously alludes to its own artificiality or status as fiction)?
• What about Austen’s humor?  Do you find the book funny?  Are there particular passages that you thought were especially humorous?

While you’re free to write about anything that interested you in the lengthy passages from Udolpho that you read, here are some prompts to get you started thinking:

• Consider Italy and the Italian background in the middle of the novel. How does Radcliffe present Italy and Italians?  We have not only Montoni, Count Morano, and the many Signori and armed men at the Castle of Udolpho, but you might remember that Mme. Quesnel (wife of Emily’s uncle, M. Quesnel) is also said to be Italian.  What does Italy seem to signify to Radcliffe?  Are there differences in the nature descriptions of France, where the St. Auberts initially reside, and Italy?
• What do you think about how Radcliffe presents the lower classes in the novel? We talked about “scary poor people” as a convention of the Gothic, and we do see frightening banditti and gypsies early on, as well as plenty of thuggish men at the castle itself.  But we also see a lot of scenes of dancing, happy peasants.  (There are even more of these scenes in passages you didn’t read).  What about the servants Annette and Ludovico?  Is Annette only comic relief or does she serve a larger role? What do you think is Radcliffe’s view of the lower classes?
• Discuss the Castle of Udolpho itself. Why do you think the Gothic form presents so many decaying castles, abbeys, etc.—all of these large, frightening spaces that heroines get lost in?  The critic Ellen Moers argues that domestic spaces in the Gothic form allow women to have adventures while staying enclosed within the domestic realm.  They can travel without a chaperone like men do, but not offend proprieties because they’re within the conventional female, domestic space.  Other critics see the labyrinthine passages and corridors and dungeons of gothic spaces as tied to nightmares and deep, Freudian-style fears and desires of the unconscious mind.  What are your observations or ideas about the castle itself and what it represents
• Consider structural choices in the novel. What do you think about the fact that Radcliffe presents so many mysteries and leaves them unresolved for hundreds of pages?  You might think specifically about the miniature portrait that Emily sees her father holding, the papers he asks her to burn, the mysterious voice in the dining chamber at Udolpho, or even more significantly, what she sees behind the black veil?  Why might Radcliffe choose to delay solving these mysteries for so long?  Do you think the technique is successful, or do you simply lose track of all these details as you read?

Remember:  For blog posts, you may reply to one of the prompts I post (see below), but you may also reply to another student’s post or to anything in the work that interests you.

Also:  remember that blog posts should be at least 200 words to receive credit and they are due by 9:00 a.m. on the day we’re discussing the material in class.

Prompts

• Discuss your impression of the opening of The Mysteries of Udolpho.  How do you react to the first 4 chapters?  Do you like the book, not like the book?  What did you notice about it thematically? Does Ann Radcliffe seem to have particular obsessions? Was it what you might have expected of a 1790’s Gothic novel or was it surprising to you?
• Discuss something from one of the critical background essays that either struck you or interested you.